West End premiere of EVERY BRILLIANT THING to open @sohoplace
The West End premiere of Every Brilliant Thing has been announced today, running @sohoplace for a strictly limited run from 1 August–27 September.
Written by Duncan Macmillan with Jonny Donahoe, and directed by Jeremy Herrin and Duncan Macmillan, this wildly popular, one-person play has delighted audiences in over 80 countries worldwide, been adapted into a highly successful HBO film and now debuts in the West End, performed by four exceptional actors. The season opens with Lenny Henry (August in England, Bush Theatre) followed in date order by Jonny Donahoe (co-creator and original performer Every Brilliant Thing), Ambika Mod (One Day, Netflix), and Sue Perkins (Just a Minute, BBC Radio 4).
Every Brilliant Thing is designed by Vicki Mortimer, with lighting by Jack Knowles, sound by Tom Gibbons, and casting by Jessica Ronane CDG.
You’re seven years old. Mum’s in hospital. Dad says she’s ‘done something stupid’. She finds it hard to be happy. You start a list of everything that’s brilliant about the world. Everything worth living for. You leave it on her pillow. You know she’s read it because she’s corrected your spelling.
A child attempts to ease their mother's depression by creating a list of all the best things in the world. Through adulthood, as the list grows, they learn the deep significance it has on their own life. Every Brilliant Thing is a comedy about the lengths we will go for those we love.
Lenny Henry said: “I am thrilled to be working with the creative geniuses Duncan Macmillan and Jeremy Herrin. Duncan’s brilliant script is so touching and celebrates the importance of finding joy in the everyday - despite life’s obstacles. I cannot wait to perform this important play in the intimate setting of @sohoplace.”
Jonny Donahoe said: “It's actually, properly BRILLIANT to be finally bringing Every Brilliant Thing to the West End @sohoplace with Duncan, Jeremy and everyone at Second Half Productions. It's been 12 years since Duncan and I did two little scratch shows at a Shropshire poetry festival and a rural community centre; a decade since we ran off-Broadway for four and a half months; and a year since we started putting it back together at last year's Edinburgh Fringe. I am over the moon to be back performing this show that Duncan and I are so proud of, and to be joined by such an array of talent in Lenny, Sue and Ambika: it's a dream come true."
Ambika Mod said: “I have loved this play since first seeing it at the Fringe as a student comedian when I was 19 years old, so it’s a dream come true to now be able to bring it to the West End with the original team, as an adult actor, almost exactly 10 years later.”
Sue Perkins said: “I was blown away when I read Duncan’s sparkling script and I’m so excited and honoured to get the chance to perform it @sohoplace.”
